Custom Noveske 14.5s - hacking up some NSRs
In the spirit of the custom build forum, I will walk through the purpose of these carbines, the background, parts selection, and process. It has been a bit of a process, so I apologize for the length.
The purpose:
My goal was to build a pair of carbines that would be my perfect, no compromise carbine, with a particular focus on durability and reliability – which meant I wanted to keep the FSB (and be able to mount a light at 12:00). Secondary focus was on accuracy. Tertiary was on lightweight (this came later in the process).
I wanted 2 carbines largely because I have 2 sons and figured there was no telling what the future would hold (I ordered the parts back in September, of course, not knowing what would come in the next ½ year).
The background:
The concept for these started when I purchased my first BCM middy about 5 years ago. I really liked the midlength system for all the reasons you can find in dozens of other threads, but I never liked that the only FSB rail option was available for carbine length systems. I figured it would only be a matter of time . . . fast forward about 5 years – still no true FSB rail (with a rail at 12:00).
Somewhere along the line I had acquired a used LaRue 13.2 rail and discovered that the LaRue alined perfectly with a midlength FSB, such that I could cut it right between the holes in the rail and also be able to get the taper pins back in the FSB with the rail mounted. I liked the LaRue, because it is a very solid rail that would meet my durability requirements. I was ready to find another LaRue 13.2 rail when it happened that I was helping my brother-in-law build a rifle and he decided on the New Noveske NSR (this was still back in early-September). When his NSR came in, I liked the feel of it and when I held it up to my 14.5” upper, it looked like it would work to cutout a FSB and be able to get the taper pins in. It got me thinking, could I still meet the durability requirement but also do it in a lighterweight package? I am not a lightweight fanatic, but all things being equal, I concluded lighter was better.
The parts:
My original plan was to build it from ground up, starting with a 14.5 Noveske hammer forged barrel with FSB from Rainier. They would get them in periodically, and I figured I would try to catch them in stock. When the NSR/lightweight epiphany struck, it occurred to me that it might be simpler to get a pair of Noveske 14.5 Skinny MOE uppers, so I would have lighter profile barrels and the other Noveske parts was just the icing on the cake. The other advantage was, by ordering from Noveske, I could get Battle Comp 1.5 upgrades (unpinned, of course) for cheap ($20 I think) and have them shave the bayo lug (win and win). Doing the math, it saved me quite a bit of money going that route versus other routes. (I had also considered BCM or Centurion hammer forged barrels, but they were even harder to come by with FSB and were more expensive).
Again, with durability and reliability at the core, I set out to spec the rest of the parts. For the sake of time . . . here’s the list with some brief commentary starting with more critical parts for reliability
-Vltor A5 system – self explanatory
-Sprinco green spring – should (probably) never need replacing
-ALG/Geissele QMS – wanted a nice but durable single stage trigger
-Aimpoint H-1 2moa in a fixed mount – Aimpoint was the obvious choice for durability and reliability
-AImpoint mount - went DD because it was lightweight and solid and cheaper than LaRue, Seekins/etc
-Daniel Defense fixed rear BUIS – again, durable and lightweight and cheaper than LMT/LaRue
-Noveske Gen 2 FFL lowers – just happened to get these on the cheap, but appreciated the flared magwell for these carbines
-BCM Gunfighter grip Mod1 – always liked the Magpul MOE’s but found I really do prefer the backstrap and grip angle of the BCM
-LPKs were DD and G&R (+ the ALG)
-Uppers already included Gunfighter charging handles, otherwise I would have added those
-When the new BCM comps came out, I swapped them for the Battle Comps. No convincing reason here, did save money when I sold the BCs though.
-Sling – Emdom Gunslinger sling – went this route for their minimalistic design (no padding but wide strap) and ability to convert to 1-point.
-Stock – B5 Systems Sopmod Bravo – previously I would have gone with a Imod for size and angle, but prefer the Spartan design of the Bravo (and no teeth to catch beards).
-Light – Surefire x300 ultra – direct rail mount with Surefire’s reputation with 500 lumens = Nice!
-IO aimpoint cover – for lens covers and a little extra protection
The only thing I was dissatisfied with at this point was the sling attachment options for the rail. There was nothing functionally wrong with the Noveske KeyMod QD socket, but I wanted something lower profile so I ordered a couple IWC micro QD mounts to be mounted just in front of the NSR barrel nut.
The customization and build:
I had most of the parts in my hands by November, but the uppers didn’t arrive for another 4 months. It was okay, because I work A LOT. Even when they arrived, it took me over 2 weeks to even begin to disassemble the first upper. I was happy to find that the Skinny MOEs were not red-locktited. I heard rumors of this for Noveske uppers. One barrel nut was tight enough, however, that I snapped 3 of the lugs off my PRI barrel nut wrench. Luckily I had a Geissele wrench from a SMR rail that worked like a charm (it’s my new favorite barrel nut wrench - what can you say, it's a Geissele).
Cutting the NSR – nothing special here, measure twice, cut once (after a drink and prayer considering I was about to hack away at a brand new $250 part not knowing if everything else would work the way I envisioned). I simply cut through the top rail with a hacksaw, then used a Dremmel cutting wheel to cut through the sides. 2-3 minutes was all it took.
Then I went to work on enlarging the round end of a keymod hole to make space for the IWC micro QD mount. I didn’t take a picture of it before fitting the IWC.
Moment of truth – can I actually get it all together, knowing the gas tube and taper pins were going to be the crux of it . . .
Here was the process:
1 – install barrel
2 – install NSR barrel nut
3 – insert gas tube as far as it will go into the receiver
4 – place FSB (no gas tube) in the new hole in the NSR
5 – slide FSB and NSR onto the barrel (now here’s where it gets tight)
6 – slide gas tube back towards the FSB, but do not install it
7 – rotate NSR on the barrel nut while simultaneously moving the gas tube as far as it will go
8 – NSR twist just far enough to be able to drop in the taper pins when pushing up on the bottom of the rail. The taper pins just squeezed through the venting holes (non-keymod holes). I had to do it this way, because the gas tube could not slide in/out past the side of the FSB when the NSR was rotated. There also was not enough space to twist and drop the taper pins in while inside the NSR.
9 – align rail/FSB
10 – secure NSR to barrel nut
11 – slide several pieces of stiff cardboard between barrel and NSR/FSB
12 – angle punch to drive tapper pins
13 – finagle gas tube back into FSB
14 – re-pin gastube to FSB
It worked. . . enjoy a beer, take a picture . . . disassemble. A few days later, I did the same thing to the other rail.
I thought about just painting them with Aervoe spray paint, but decided to spend the money and get them Cerakoted to cover where I had cut through the anodizing. Before getting them coated, I smoothed everything out with emory cloth.
I had a local guy do the Cerakoting. I had hoped for a FDE, Coyote, Brown or something like that, but he didn’t stock those ($25 more for custom ordered colors). In stead I used the in stock “Sniper Gray”. A week and a half for Cerakoting . . . another week and a half for time . . . and final assembly.
Long post, I know, but it is what it is. At least this way if anyone wants to do something similar, they have a place to start and an idea of what it will take.
If I left anything out or I can explain anything better, let me know.
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Originally Posted by okie john
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